Fountaindale Public Library – Bolingbrook, IL

My Adventures in Free Comic Book Day!

Saturday was Free Comic Book Day!

This great mural is outside Rockhead’s Comics and Games in Kenosha, WI.

Every year, the comic industry releases a few dozen comic books specifically created for FCBD. Comic stores (and even sometimes book stores) can opt to receive (purchase) a limited quantity of each of these books that they, in turn, give away FOR FREE!

Some of the FREE titles available this year! Photo taken in Double Daggers Artisan Emporium in Kenosha, WI.

Many shops have additional events like sales or raffles or cosplay contests going on in tandem with FCBD. You can choose to spend the day at one or two stores to see all the cool stuff going on and hang out with other people who are just as into comics as you are. Or, like me, you can take the Gotta-Catch-’Em-All Approach and try to hit as many comic shops as possible to collect all the available FCBD comics released that year. Most shops limit how many individual books you can take to 2–5 comics per person. So, you have to go to a lot of stores if you want to get all 50 that came out this year.

More excellent artwork outside Vortex Comics in Milwaukee, WI.

Two friends and I go every year and we share our bounty, so we just need to make sure we get all 50 between the three of us – much easier! I usually call it “trick-or-treating for grown-up geeks” although, there are certainly a lot of families with little kids excited to pick out their free comics too.

This year, we only made it to four comic book stores, all located in Wisconsin. We almost got all 50, but the last two stores we went to were already out of the more popular titles, so we missed a few.

Highlights of the Day:

I found some back issues of some of my favorite series! These weren’t among the free comics, of course, but I was thrilled to find them anyway!

Wonder Woman was performing her hero duties at one of my favorite shops in Kenosha, WI, raising funds for The Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

Wonder Woman doing her part to defend those in need – Rockhead’s – Kenosha, WI

Magic: the Gathering Mana Boxes and ALL THE SUPERFIGHT!

Finding Neko Atsume plushie kitties!

Kitty Collector toys at Lost Worlds – Milwaukee, WI

Finding a real, live kitty! Boo the shop cat at Lost Worlds was not interested in my paparazzi act. But she did enjoy spending some time in a comic book box.

Blog Post Categories

Follow the Vortex Blog

Library Comment Policy

Posts containing the following are against library rules and will be deleted before posting or removed by library staff:
1. Copyright violations
2. Off topic comments
3. Commercial material/spam
4. Duplicated posts from the same individual
5. Obscene, profane and/or abusive posts
6. Specific and imminent threats
7. Libelous comments
8. Images
By choosing to comment you agree to these rules.